The Missionary Position

"The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice" was likely among the most popular of novels written by Christopher Hitchens and was received around the world with both praise and anger at the views and arguments that Hitchens espoused about Mother Teresa. Releasing in 1995, this book was seen as a culmination of the views that Hitchens had spoken and written about in length in the years before. In the '90's alone, Hitchens had appeared in a number of interviews and debates wherein he went in depth about his criticisms of Mother Teresa. The book was so controversial that one of the quotes included on the back of the novel says "If there is a hell, Hitchens is going there for this book". It's important to note that Hitchens mentions within the introduction of the essay that his issues with Mother Teresa are primarily about how people view her and not as much about the woman herself.

The introduction begins with a close look at her friendly treatment of the Duvalier regime in Haiti, a regime that was known to kill and torture thousands upon thousands of Haitians. He focuses on the praise that she offered the Duvalier family after receiving an award from them, even going so far as to say that Duvalier was a friend to the poor. The remainder of the novel is broken down into three sections, the first of which focuses on the "Miracle" of the Kodak film that brought the popularity of Mother Teresa to the western world, the second of which dissects her apparent good works and heroic deeds and the third of which is titled "ubiquity"; a section that looks at the political views that were held by Mother Teresa.